Dawn is the best-selling liquid dishwasher in the United States. In addition to being excellent for removing grease, it’s biodegradable, doesn’t contaminate and is safe for the skin. It’s a very versatile product. So, you can use it in a wide variety of different purposes.
For example, if you mix it with vinegar, you can apply it as a powerful toilet cleaner. It’s also excellent for unclogging pipes. That’s why, if you don’t have toilet cleaners available, a bottle of Dawn is all you need to get the job done.
Today you’ll learn some simple recipes with Dawn that will help you remove difficult stains on toilets. Pay attention and follow each of the steps to ensure the best results.
What is Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner?
Basically, it’s a toilet bowl cleaner that you can prepare at home by mixing several common cleaning products. When doing so, you should be careful, because some products can release toxic gases when mixed together.
It’s always convenient to wear rubber gloves, safety glasses and a face mask during the mixing process. Common cleaning products such as chlorine, ammonia and sodium hydroxide can irritate the skin and cause irreversible damage to the eyes.
However, today you’ll learn a simple non-toxic formula for cleaning toilets. You only need a bottle of Dawn dishwasher and another of vinegar. It’s very cheap and easy to apply. Above all, it’s powerful enough to remove stubborn stains.
What is Dawn?
Dawn was first introduced in 1973, by the famous cleaning products company Procter & Gamble. It’s a petroleum-based product, safe for the environment.
Therefore, it’s one of the few products recommended by the International Bird Rescue organization to clean animals affected by oil spills. Volunteers used it in major environmental disasters such as Deepwater Horizon and Exxon Valdez.
Like any dishwasher, Dawn is a mixture of three main components:
- Surfactants
- Buffering agents
- Fragrances
Surfactants
Surfactants are chemical substances that allow removing all the grease stuck to a surface using water. To do this, surfactants break the surface tension of water that repels grease.
Some surfactants present in the formulation of Dawn dishwasher are:
- Alkyl dimethyl amine.
- Sodium lauryl sulfate.
Buffering Agents
Buffering agents are chemical substances that stabilize pH. In other words, buffering agents prevent a substance from becoming too acidic or too basic. Both extremes are harmful to health and environment.
For example, if the dishwasher were too acidic, it could ruin the surface of cups and plates. Dawn uses potassium carbonate as a buffering agent.
In addition, by stabilizing pH, buffering agents make Dawn a safe product for septic systems. A slight change in the water pH could kill the beneficial bacteria, which digest organic matter dissolved in water.
Fragrances
On the other hand, fragrances serve to eliminate bad odors. Dawn uses chemicals such as propyl acetate or octal acetate as artificial fragrances. These substances are harmless and don’t cause any adverse reaction on the skin.
Step by Step Guide to Make Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner
On the Internet, there are hundreds of DIY tutorials of how to make toilet bowl cleaner at home. However, not all of these recipes are really effective. On the other hand, others use very strong ingredients that can be dangerous if mixed together.
Therefore, a simple recipe with Dawn dishwasher maybe is the best and safest alternative to remove stains in toilets when there’s no toilet cleaner. These are some simple recipes that you can’t miss making at home:
Homemade Toilet Cleaner with Dawn
This recipe serves to soften difficult spots, eliminate pathogens and dissolve accumulated mineral debris. You only need two ingredients to prepare it. These are the steps you must follow:
- Fill half spray bottle with vinegar. After that, heat the bottle with vinegar in a microwave for 1 minute.
- Fill the rest of the bottle with Dawn dishwasher. Then, put the lid on and shake until you get a homogeneous mixture.
- Apply the spray directly on the stains. Wait about 15 minutes for the formula to take effect. After that, scrub the stains with a toilet brush (A toilet cleaning tools).
If the stains don’t disappear completely with the first application, it’s convenient to repeat the same procedure several times.
Vinegar kills pathogens in water, increasing its acidity. In addition, it’s very useful for removing rust stains and accumulated mineral debris due to hard water.
This formula is also very effective for cleaning dirty windows and any other glass surface. In addition, it returns the lost gloss on ceramics and prevents the growth of mold between joints.
Homemade Toilet Cleaning Cubes with Dawn
These cubes work just like toilet cleaner tablets. They help keep your toilets clean for longer, reducing the frequency of cleaning. In addition, they’re safe for septic systems.
To prepare them, you only need three basic ingredients. This is what you should do:
- Pour into a bowl :
- 1 Cup of baking soda.
- Dawn dishwasher 1 Tablespoon.
- ¼ Cup of citric acid powder.
- Mix all ingredients evenly using a spoon.
- Compact the mixture into an ice mold & let dry for 4 hours.
- Finally, remove the cubes from the mold.
To use, you just need to throw a cube directly into your toilet bowl. The product starts working as soon as it begins to dissolve in the water.
When dissolved, sodium bicarbonate considerably raises water pH. After that, pathogens in the water die instantly. Furthermore, sodium bicarbonate prevents the formation of mold on the toilet bowl surface.
On the other hand, citric acid provides acidity and effervescence to the formula. Citric acid is very good for killing bacteria. Therefore, it’s an excellent preservative.
Unclogging toilets with Dawn
Maybe you didn’t know that Dawn dishwasher is also very effective for unclogging toilets. Most commercial products for these purposes contain sodium hydroxide. Sodium hydroxide is a powerful solvent that you should use carefully.
If you don’t want to take risks and you have enough Dawn dishwasher at home, you can do the following:
- Pour a cup of Dawn in the toilet bowl.
- After that, wait 15 minutes for the product to take effect.
- Finally, pour a bucket of hot water into your toilet bowl.
The combined action of the dishwasher and hot water helps soften the debris stuck to the walls of the pipes. In contrast to sodium hydroxide, Dawn dishwasher doesn’t contaminate and is safe for septic systems.
Conclusion
Combined with other active ingredients, Dawn dishwasher can become an excellent toilet cleaner. Obviously, homemade recipes aren’t as effective as the concentrated products that you usually find in the market.
In addition, they allow you to control the dosage of each component in the formula. Something you can’t do with prefabricated products.
Most commercial cleaning products pollute the environment. In addition, they can be dangerous when handled without the required safety equipment. Therefore, it’s always convenient to know the chemical composition of a product before using it.
If you’re aware of the importance of preserving the environment, you must only opt for biodegradable products. Therefore, Dawn is an excellent alternative to prevent contamination and keep beneficial microorganisms alive.